Tag: hearit

Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! homonyms

I didn’t hear you.

I didn’t hear you

I hear you.

Just one short verb to express so much. Hear. Pronounced just like its homonym: here.

I hear you. I understand what you’re saying …

and I’m paying attention to WHAT you’re saying. It has not only reached my ears … it’s reached my … reason. I’m taking what you’re saying into consideration.

Famous people have said this at some point in their political careers when they’re forced to listen!

Others might be … a little hard of hearing and say this:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022a1.mp3|titles=I didn’t hear you]

and when it comes to the latest news … or gossip:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022e1.mp3|titles=Have you heard]

and when we finally meet … one of us just might say :

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022c1.mp3|titles=I’ve heard so much about you]

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Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords Online Language Resources for English

saying … telling … speaking … talking …

Four verbs we “do” every day. Probably because we do these things a lot !! Four verbs describing one of our favorite activities. I’ll just leave it to each reader’s imagination for the others.

You might expect me to immediately go into the differences … but I’d like to touch on some common uses of “say” first.

“What can I say?”   (Que veux-tu que je te dise ?)

“Do you know what I’m saying?”

Tu me comprends?

“What would you say if . . .?”

Que diriez-vous si…       Que dirais-tu si …

“I can’t say for sure.”

Je ne peux rien affirmer. Je ne peux pas te le confirmer (avec certitude).

“Say when.”

“Arretez-moi.”

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English Popular sayings, proverbs & quotes

There’s e.t.a., eta, ETA and E.T.A. …

When S. used the abbreviation “e.t.a.” the other day, it took me a minute to catch on.
“What’s your “e.t.a.?” she asked her mom on the phone.

Well over in France and in Spain, those initials refer to a Basque separatist movement.

In travel-intensive North America, it does not, to my knowledge, refer to a secessionist tendency.

It does have to do with time, though_

“What’s your e.t.a.?”
“Between 12 and 12:30” … That’s to say, just in time for lunch.

E.T.A. =  Estimated Time of Arrival

A fine substitute for “What time do you think you’ll get here?”

For the others, try wikipedia …

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords

How odd … 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 … odd numbers, aren’t they?

This is a remarkable word … odd … How odd!

We often use it in the same way as the French use the word “bizarre” … How strange! How unusual! How funny! How peculiar! How unexpected … How odd it is!

What an odd thing to say …

And here’s another … obviously everyday way of using it …

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Expressions Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Idiomatic Expressions

Answers to the Listening Bee: October 8, 2010

 
       
         
  1. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
  2. Nothing hurts like the truth.”
  3. “Let’s get down to business
  4. “Keep smiling!”

5.  “I’ve got to run now”

  1. ” The rest is history.”
     

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English

just one letter from the alphabet: “s”

and it make … S all the difference in the world … when we hear it pronounced.

It gives the plural of millions of wordZ  …  except feet and mice and geese …

AND

It is PRONOUNCED with present tense verbs with subjects like “he” … “she” and “it” …

This is the letter that make…S the difference!    Try it … You just might like it …

Listen to this …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex22019.mp3|titles=s as in snake]

then this;

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf22019.mp3|titles=s s ess]

and … in context:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18044b1.mp3|titles=Love makes the world go round]

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Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords Online Language Resources for English

the opposite of thoughtful?

… how about … thought… less. “Thoughtless.” “Inconsiderate.”

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Posted in Notes on English Fluency Audio Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords homonyms

pronunciation : why? = y

Why ??? Why ??? = Why not? 

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it !

Reassuring …

(an imaginary dialogue)

I think this is what Nicolas Sarkozy was saying to Angela Merkel about Greece …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/EX17078A.mp3|titles=Everything’s going to be all right]

and she replied …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18078a1.mp3|titles=I beg your pardon…]

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English homonyms

pronunciation & spelling: way … weigh

Just a few sound clips … to show you how easy it is to pronounce and spell these homonyms!

We all know “one way street …” ((sens unique dans tous ses sens)) [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18171d1.mp3|titles=one way street] and we know that there’s more than “one way” : Which way? Oh dear … No way! ((impossible!))[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18064a1.mp3|titles=no way]

Talking pounds and kilos … How much does it weigh?

weigh <pronunciation> way [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf18171.mp3|titles=way]

Oh dear I just realized … the noun form of weigh is … weight. Which is pronounced just like wait.  “Heaven can wait” wasn’t that the name of a movie?

weight <pronunciation> wait [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf18165.mp3|titles=wait/weight]

surely there are others … any suggestions?

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